Combination brake



June 18, 1957 F. E. BACHMAN ETAL COMBINATION BRAKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 8, 1952 June 18, 1957 F. E. BACHMAN ETA;

COMBINATION BRAKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April. 8, 195 gg -f nite COMBINATION BRAKE Application April 8, 1952, Serial No. 281,236

9 Claims. (Cl. 188-43) The invention relates to railway car trucks and more particularly to a braking mechanism therefor.

A general object of the invention is to provide a rotor brake for a railway car truck, wherein actuation is accomplished by an interconnected lever mechanism.

Another generalobject of the invention is to combine a Wheel tread brake and a rotor brake having interconnected levers to concurrently actuate the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel rotor brake beam combination heretofore not utilized in the art for levered actuation thereof in combination with a wheel tread brake.

Still another object of the invention is to provide resilient pivotal support for friction shoe carrying bell cranks to assist in flexibly absorbing the resulting braking torque.

Yet another object of me invention is to provide a novel means to maintain a friction shoe surface in parallel relationship with the companion surface of an associated rotor as the shoe carrying arm is moved arcuately into and out of engagement with said friction rotor.

Various and other objects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description, where- 1n:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention, partly in section;

- Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention, only one half of the truck being shown inasmuch as it is identical on the other side of the longitudinal center line;

atent 1 Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately along lines 5-5 of Figures 1 and 4.

To achieve clarity, fragmentary sections have been taken throughout the illustrations and certain structural features have been omitted from various views where it is believed said features are adequately shown in other views.

Describing the invention in detail, a frame, generally designated 10, is supported in the conventional manner (not shown) from spaced wheel and axle assemblies, generally designated 12. At each end of the frame 10, the depending pedestals 14, 14 define journal openings 16 and embrace an associated journal box (not shown) in the usual manner. The frame 10 comprises side rails 18 interconnected at the ends thereof by the transverse end rails 20. Intermediate the end rails 20 the transoms 22 integrally connect the side rails 18. Inboardly of each wheel 24 a rotor or friction disk 26 is fixedly secured and rotatable with the axle 28.

Rigidly secured to the side rail 18 is the outwardly extending bracket 30 presenting the substantially vertical face plate 32 to which is conventionally secured a standard pneumatically actuated power cylinder, generally designated 34. The internal construction of the power cylinder 34 is not per se part of the disclosed invention, hence it is not being shown in detail.

The power cylinder 34 includes the piston rod 36 operatively attached to a piston (not shown) internally of the cylinder, and is disposed to extend longitudinally of the truck to make pivotal connection as at 37 to the live actuating or cylinder lever 38. Also extending longitudinally of the truck, but directionally opposed to the piston rod 36 is the conventional slack adjusting device 40. Said device is rigidly supported from the frame 18 by means of the support arm 42. A dead actuating or cylinder lever 44 is pivoted to the slack adjusting device 40 as at 45 intermediate the lever arm 42 and the power cylinder 34. The functions of said live and dead actuating levers will be hereinafter more fully described.

Each end rail 20 presents the depending bracket 46 at a point adjacent its connection to the side rail 18 and in longitudinal alignment with a vertical plane passing through the wheel 24 of the axle assembly 28.

Rigidly secured to each transom 22 are the transversely spaced brackets generally designated 50 and 52, said brackets directionally extend toward the adjacent wheel andaxle assembly 28 and are longitudinally aligned with a related friction disk 26 carried by said assembly. The bracketsSt) are composed of spaced, parallel, equally distended plates 54 and 56, the contour of said plates being formed to snugly abut the associated transom 22 on the bottom and one side thereof (Figure 1). The brackets 52 are composed of spaced parallel distended plates 58 and 60 which also abut the associated transom in a manner similar to that heretofore mentioned for the plates 54 and 56. The plates 54, 56 and 58 are extended outwardly from the transom 22 a similar distance and the plates 60 are extended a substantially increased distance. Said plates 60 comprise the converging sections 62 and 64 defining the jaws 66 (Figure 1). Along the inboard face of the plates 60 a ledge 68 is formed to enlarge the area and increase the strength of the jaws 66. Two series of four. axially aligned pin holes 70 and 72 are defined within the brackets 56 and 52, said holes being operative to carry a brake support in the manner hereafter described.

The rotor brake support, indicated generally at 74, consists of the vertically spaced plates 76 and 78. Said plates are of substantially U-shaped contour as seen in Figure 1- and-have arcuately formed pin holes at the extremities of the U. The extremities of the U are embraced by the spaced plates of the brackets 59 and 52 and secured thereto by pinsStl received by the pin holes 70 and 72. The connecting-portion of the U of each plate 76 and 78 carries the spaced distended arms 82 and 84 arcuately forming axially aligned pin holes 88. The vertical member 86 serves to fixedly space the plates 76 and 78 by having its respective endsreceived intermediate the arms 82 and 84and having pin and pinhole connection thereto.

The upper plate 76'has formed in the outboard leg of the .U a clearance slot which is operative to receive a truc'k'lever in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

The bell crank supporting member 99 is" disposed" to engage .the vertical member 86 as seen in Figure 3, and to vflexibly contact the resilient pads $2 and 94. Said pads are disposed between the supporting member 96 andthe upper and lower plates 76 and 78 as seen in Figure land are fixed in place by means of the ledges 96 extending from the related plate and the supporting member 90. The pin retaining plate 98 abuts the inboard side of the supporting member (Figure 3) and has connection at its vertically opposed ends to the upper and lower plates 76 and 73 by means of pin and pin hole engagement with lugs 1% extending from said upper and lower plates 76 and 78, respectively; An aperture 102 extends through the vertical member 86, the supporting member 90 and the retaining plate 98 and has'press fitted therein a pin 104.

Bell cranks, generally designated 106, and having. an-

gularly related arms 108 and 110 are pivotally supported at the juncture of said arms from the member 90 by means of the vertically positioned pivotal pins 112. The arms 108 of the respective bell cranks 106 are extended to embrace the friction disk 26 and may be stepped to form a ledge on the end thereof as at 114 (Figure l). The ledge 114 is disposed between the lugs 116 and 118 outstanding from the related brake shoes 120 and pivotal connection is made between the lugs 116 and 118 and the related arm 108 by means of the pin 122.

The lug 116 has formed thereon a cylindrical nub 124. The bell crank supporting member 90 has the arcuate slot 126 (Figure formed on a radius about the axis of the pivotal pin 112. A belt or band 128, preferably of thin steel, is fixedly disposed relative to the pivotal pin 112 as by a close fit within the slot 126 and is extended to embrace a portion of the circumference of the nub 124. It is to be noted that the belt 128 is stressed in tension to insure substantial frictional engagement with the periphery of the nub 124. In the alternative, the belt 128 may be secured to the member 90 and to the nub 124 by shear pins 125, 125 or other suitable means whereby any slipping of the belt may be positively prevented.

A brake beam 130 extending transversely of the truck is movably supported by the jaw 66 and has a trunnion 132 formed on the end thereof. Adjacent the end of the beam 130 connection is made to an equalizer 134 preferably, as herein shown, by the rivet 136. The equalizer 134 is of bowed contour as seen in the plan view, with its concave portion facing the wheel and axle assembly 28. Said equalizer 134 defines at opposed ends thereof the elliptical holes 138, the long axes of which extend substantially transversely of the truck. Each arm 110 of the related bell crank 106 has formed on its free extremity the jaw 140, which receives the adjacent slotted end of the equalizer 134 and is connected thereto by pin and slot engagement as at 142. Centrally of the equalizer 134 and aligned with the connection to the brake beam 136 a pocket or recess 144 is formed. Said recess receives and seats the release spring 146 as best seen in Figure 3. The release spring 146 compressively abuts the retaining plate 98 and is held in place by the partial extension by the pin 104 into the inside diameter of said spring.

Outboardly of each wheel and axle assembly 28, another brake beam 150 is positioned transversely of the truck. A trunnion 152 is formed on the end thereof and operatively carries a brake shoe 154 in the conventional manner. A hanger 156 pivotally engages the trunnion. 152 and movably supports the brake beam 150 by means of pinned pivotal connection as at 158 to the depending brackets 46 of the frame 10. Inboardly of the end of the beam 150 connection is made to the rod 160, which in tum is pivotally associated with the lower end of the vertically disposed dead truck lever 162, as best seen in Figure l. The upper end of the lever 162 is fulcrumed from the bracket 164 as at 177, said bracket being carried by the end rail of the frame 10.

A live truck lever 166 pivotally engages each trunnion 132 of the brake beams 130 and is disposed vertically through the clearance slot 75 of the plate 76 as hereinbefore mentioned.

The left hand live truck lever 166 has a conventional pivotal connection (not shown) to the inboard end of the live actuating lever 38 via link or clevis 167 (Figure 1). The other of said live truck levers 166 has a conventional pivotal connection to the inboard end of the dead actuating lever 44 via link or clevis 169 (Figure 2), said actuating lever having fulcrum connection to the slack adjuster 40 as hereinbefore mentioned. A connecting rod 168 extending longitudinally of the truck has pivotal connection at the opposite ends thereof to the actuating levers 38 and 44 at points intermediate the ends of said levers as indicated at 170 and 172, respectively,

ill

Each pair of adjacent truck levers 162 and 166 pivotally engages intermediate the ends thereof the related end of the rod 174, as seen at 176 and 178, respectively.

In operation, the piston rod 36, in response to pneumatic pressure induced in the power cylinder 34, is urged outwardly from said cylinder, affording power source for actuating both the rotor and tread brakes. Directing attention to the left-hand braking assembly as seen in Figure 1, the live actuating lever in response to the longitudinal movement of the piston rod 36 is rotated about the movable pivot point 170. The live truck lever 166 in response to the aforementioned rotation of the lever 38 is also rotated about the movable pivot point 178, and the connected dead truck lever 162 is rotated about the fulcrum point 177. Thus the brake beams 130 and 150 due to the operative connections with the related levers are urged to move toward the adjacent wheel and axle assembly. Due to the connection afiorded by the rod 168 between the live actuating lever 38 and the dead actuating lever 44, the linkage action and the resulting brake beam movements is substantially similar and concurrent in the right-hand braking assembly of the truck as seen in Figure 1. The motion above described urges the shoes 154 carried by the brake beams 150 into frictional contact with the periphery of the associated wheel. The equalizers 134, in response to said movement, are urged toward the related rotor, pivoting the connected bell cranks 106 and bringing the shoes carried thereby into frictional engagement with the opposed faces of the related rotor 26. It is to be noted that the equalizers 134 have elliptical slots formed in the ends, as heretofore mentioned, the clearance olfered by said slots being necessary to accommodate transverse displacement of the connecting pin during arcuate movement of the arms about the fixed pivotal pins 112.

Another important feature of the disclosed invention is the method of maintaining the frictional surface 121 of each shoe in substantial parallel relationship with the related surface of the rotor 26 during angular movement of the shoe supporting arm 108 toward and away from said rotor 26.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the steel belt 128 may be fixedly secured relative to the pivotal pin 112 to prevent slipping it at this point. Due to the frictional engagement between the tensioned belt 128 and the periphery of the cylindrical nub 124, the nub is urged to roll along the inside surface of said belt to accommodate angular movement of the arm 108. This rolling action causes the shoe to pivot on the pin 122 relative to the arm 108 and thereby 'maintain substantial parallel relation between the shoe friction surface 121 and the adjacent face of the rotor 26. 7

We claim:

1. In a railway car truck, a wheel and axle assembly, a frame supported therefrom, a rotatable friction disk inboardly of the wheel and connected to said axle, a trans verse member integrally formed with said frame, a brake beam disposed adjacent said assembly, a jaw secured to said member and offering linear movable support for said beam, a brake support rigidly secured to said member and comprising vertically spaced plates interconnected at the ends and intermediate the ends by spaced vertical elements, a member disposed intermediate said elements, resilient means flexibly connecting the member to the spaced plates and elements, a braking device carried by said support and comprising spaced pivoted bell cranks pivoted to the said member at opposite ends thereof, friction shoes pivotally connected to ends of said cranks and embracing and engageable with said disk, and an equalizer member connected to said beam and connected to the ends .of. the bell cranks opposite the mentioned ends, and interconnected live and dead levers engaging said beam and operative to urge said friction shoes into engagement with said disk.

2. In a railway car truck, a wheel and axle assembly,

a frame member supported therefrom, a friction disk rotatable with said assembly, and brake means associated with said wheel and disk, said brake means comprising a brake beam disposed at one side of said assembly and pivotally supported from said member, a brake shoe on the end of said beam operative to engage said wheel, another brake beam disposed on the other side of said assembly and movably supported from said member, a substantially immovable support rigidly secured to said frame member, a mounting member, resilient means flexibly connecting the mounting member to the support, spaced bell cranks, each of said cranks having angularly related arms pivotally supported at the juncture of said arms from said mounting member, one of said arms on each bell crank extending approximately longitudinally of the truck and pivotally carrying on the end thereof a friction shoe, the other of said arms on each bell crank extending approximately transversely of the truck, connecting means for said bell cranks consisting of a transversely extending equalizer fixedly secured to said other brake beam and having pin and slot engagement at opposed ends with the adjacent other arm of said bell cranks, and actuating means for said connecting means.

3. In a railway car truck, a wheel and axle assembly, a friction disk rotatable therewith, a frame supported from said assembly, a brake beam disposed adjacent said assembly on the outboard side of the truck, a shoe carried by said beam and engageable with the tread of said wheel, a truck lever having its lower end connected to said beam and its upper end pivoted to the frame, a support carried by the frame adjacent said assembly inboardly of the truck, said support comprising a jaw and vertically spaced interconnected plates, another brake beam supported by said jaw for horizontal sliding movement therein, a mounting member carried by said support intermediate said plates, resilient pads interposed between said member and each of said plates, bell cranks pivotally connected to said member and carrying shoes disposed at opposite sides and engageable with said disk, arms on each of said bell cranks extending generally transversely of the truck, an equalizer positioned adjacent to and generally paralleling said arms, pin and slot connections between the opposite ends of said equalizer and the ends of the related arms, said equalizer centrally thereof having a fixed connection to said other brake beam, a live truck lever having its lower end operatively connected to the outer end of said other brake beam, a rod interconnecting said truck levers at points intermediate their ends, and power means operatively connected to the upper end of said live truck lever.

4. A railway car truck according to claim 3, and including cylindrical members connected to said shoes, tensioned bands frictionally engaging said cylindrical members and connected to said support, said bands and said cylindrical members cooperating to pivot the brake head on the related bell crank as the cranks move the heads into and out of engagement with said disk.

5. In a railway car truck, a wheel and axle assembly, a rotatable friction disk secured to said assembly, a frame supported by the assembly, a brake beam movably supported from the frame, a power source having immediate lever connection to said beam, brake means embracing said disk and engageable therewith and operatively connected to said beam, a support carried by the frame and comprising upper and lower plates, said brake means comprising a plurality of bell cranks pivotally connected to a common member, said member being disposed intermediate said plates and resilient pads interposed between said member and each of said plates, and actuating means and deactuating means for said cranks.

6. A railway car truck, according to claim 5, wherein said de-actuating means consists of a compressed spring engaging said support and said equalizer and operative to urge said equalizer away from the disk.

7, In a railway car truck, a wheel and axle assembly, a friction disk rotatable with said assembly, a frame supported on said assembly, brake beams carried by the frame on inner and outer sides of the assembly, the outer beam carrying a shoe engageable with the tread of a wheel of said assembly, shoes engageable with opposite sides of the friction disk, bell cranks connected to said last mentioned shoes, an equalizer member movable with the inner beam having slidable pin connections with the respective bell cranks and operable to pivot the bell cranks in either direction, dead and live truck levers connected to the outer and inner beams, respectively, a rod interconnecting the levers, and means to move the levers whereby the outer shoe is urged to engage said wheel tread and the inner shoes are urged to engage said disk.

8. In a brake head positioning device, a plane friction surface, a brake head having a flat surface engageable with said friction surface and also presenting a substantially cylindrical surface, a support presenting a substantially cylindrical surface, a lever pivoted to said support on an axis and pivotally connected to said brake head on an axis lying in a plane generally parallel to said first mentioned axis and to the plane of said friction surface, said lever being operable to move said brake head into and out of engagement with said friction surface, and means to maintain said brake head and friction surfaces in parallel relation with each other, said means comprising a generally flat flexible tensioned band partially surrounding and frictionally engaging the respectivecylindrical surfaces and cooperating with said surfaces to pivot the head on the lever about said second mentioned axis as the lever moves the head into and out of engagement with the friction surface.

9. In a brake head positioning device, a rotatable friction surface, a brake head having a surface engageable with said friction surface and also presenting a substantially cylindrical surface, a support presenting a substantially cylindrical surface, a lever fulcrumed to said support and pivotally connected to said brake head, said lever being operable to move said brake head into and out of engagement with said friction surface, and means to maintain said brake head and friction surfaces in parallel relation with each other, said means comprising a generally flat flexible tensioned band partially surrounding and frictionally engaging the respective cylindrical surfaces and cooperating with the surfaces to pivot the head on the lever as the lever moves the head into and out of engagement with the friction surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent Tack Apr. 1, 1947 

